Third-graders suspects in teacher plot

Posted: Wednesday, April 02, 2008

WAYCROSS - Police say a group of third-graders plotted to attack their teacher, bringing a broken steak knife, handcuffs, duct tape and other items for the job and assigning children tasks including covering the windows and cleaning up afterward.

The plot by as many as nine boys and girls at Center Elementary School was a serious threat, Waycross Police Chief Tony Tanner said Tuesday.

"We did not hear anybody say they intended to kill her, but could they have accidentally killed her? Absolutely," Tanner said. "We feel like if they weren't interrupted, there would have been an attempt. Would they have been successful? We don't know."

The children, ages 8 and 9, were apparently mad at the teacher because she had scolded one of them for standing on a chair, Tanner said.

They could be expelled, but a prosecutor said they are too young to be charged with a crime under Georgia law.

Tanner said school officials alerted police Friday after a pupil tipped off a teacher that a girl had brought a weapon to school.

Police seized a broken steak knife, handcuffs, duct tape, electrical and transparent tape, ribbons and a crystal paperweight from the students, who apparently intended to use them against the teacher, Tanner said.

Theresa Martin, spokeswoman for the Ware County School System, said nine children had been given discipline up to and including long-term suspension. She would not be more specific. She said none of the children had been back to school since the case came to light.

The alleged target is a veteran educator who teaches third-grade students with a range of learning disabilities, including attention deficit disorder, delayed development and hyperactivity, friends and parents said.

Tanner said the scheme involved a division of roles. One child's job was to cover windows so no one could see outside, he said. Another was supposed to clean up after the attack.

"We estimate between six to nine students were involved. ... We're not sure at this point in the investigation how many of the students actually knew the intent was to hurt the teacher," Tanner said.

The parents of the students have cooperated with investigators, who aren't allowed to question the children without their parents' or guardians' consent, he said. Authorities have withheld the children's names.

Police expected to forward the results of their investigation to prosecutors, Tanner said.

Children in Georgia can't be charged with a crime unless they are at least 13, District Attorney Rick Currie said.